Fair Game's Spooktacular Halloween Horror RPG spotlight

• Posted on 12 October 2024
• By Tom Pleviak
• Posted in Cosmic Horror, Horror, Lovecraft, Lovecraftian, Roleplaying Game, RPG, TTRPG
• 0

Check out Fair Game's top picks for this season's spookiest and scariest tabletop RPG's! Cthulhu calls... and he's not alone!

Vaesen: In this RPG of Nordic Horror, brings players to the Mythic North, a dark gothic reimagining of Northern Europe of the 19th century where myths, legends, and monsters lurk in the vast forests beyond the borders of the few developing cities. Based on the work of Swedish illustrator and author Johan Egerkrans, Vaesen adapts the award-winning Year Zero Engine to take players on bloodcurdling adventures that will pit them against all manner of monsters pulled from Scandinavian and Nordic folklore.

Monster of the Week: Most people know that monsters aren’t real… but you know the truth. Monsters are VERY real and it’s up to you to bring them down! Monster of the Week is an action-horror RPG inspired by such pop culture icons as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and The X-Files. Using the Powered by the Apocalypse game engine, 3-5 players will build a cohesive hunting team to tackle everything from Bigfoot to aliens to demons and everything in-between!

Arkham Horror RPG: An ancient force has come to the town of Arkham, a lurking dread threatening all who live there. Set in Fantasy Flight’s famous Arkham Files setting (inspired by the writings of HP Lovecraft), the Arkham Horror RPG sees players take on the role of talented and bold investigators trying to unravel the mystery of the Ancient Ones and put a stop to it using the Dynamic Pool System, an easy-to-use d6-based dice system.

Zweihander Fantasy Horror RPG: A cooperative storytelling RPG set in a medieval fantasy horror world. A game of gallows humor, social intrigue, investigative mystery, occult magic, supernatural horror, and ancient vendettas meted out with black powder, sorcery, and steel. Using an intuitive roll-low d100 skill system, Zweihander’s versatile and elegant mechanics can handle a wide variety of scenes and gameplay, from social intrigue and chase scenes to investigations and combat. It also features a Fortune Point system, where players can spend Fortune Points to influence the outcomes of scenarios and die rolls at the cost of giving the GM Misfortune Points, which can be spent later to increase difficulty.

Trail of Cthulhu: An award-winning RPG of investigative horror, powered by the GUMSHOE system. Featuring two modes of play (“Pulp,” for the desperate action feel of Indiana Jones, and “Purist,” full of philosophical horror and cosmic dread), Trail of Cthulhu’s challenge lies in interpreting clues, rather than finding them. It also features a Drives system, designed to keep characters committed to confronting the horror even if it might be easier to just go home.

Call of Cthulhu RPG: In the famous RPG of mystery and horror set in the fictional world envisioned by HP Lovecraft, lets players take on the role of everyday people who become investigators of the unknown – whether they’re ready for it or not! Develop your character’s skills based on the choices you make while relying on both your physical and mental resilience to endure the mind-bending horrors of the Cthulhu mythos. Using Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying: Universal Game Engine, Call of Cthulhu uses a roll-low d100 dice system where every success gives you a chance to improve.

Cthulhu Confidential: A two-player RPG using the GUMSHOE One-2-One engine, where one Game Master and one Player create a story that evokes the classic solo protagonist mystery format. Choose one of several lone investigators in New York, DC, or LA of the 1930’s and work to uncover the mysteries of your town’s secrets… and reveal the horrific, cosmic indifference of HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.

Zombie World: In this card-based tabletop RPG, players form an enclave of survivors fighting against the living and the dead in the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse. Designed for quick, easy, and intense play, it takes the Powered by the Apocalypse system in new directions, where both character creation and the outcome of player choices are determined by drawing and playing cards, rather than rolling dice.

Pirate Borg is a rules light, art heavy, and scurvy-ridden standalone RPG based on the award-winning Mork Borg RPG where players take on the role of pirates, privateers, and plunderers and use cutlass and flintlock alike to raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer their weasley black guts out. If you die (which is likely) roll a new character and do it all again; such is life on the high seas. Drink up, m’hearties!

Old Gods of Appalachia RPG is a complete, standalone game powered by the Cypher System based on the award-winning and amazingly popular fiction podcast of the same name. Players venture into the dark, eerie past of an alternate Appalachia of the 1920’s and ‘30’s, where those who have slumbered soundlessly beneath the mountains for millennia begin to stir… as the walls of their prison grow thin.